Just a Fool
by AquilaTempestas
Summary: Johnny often scoffed at couples in love, but when he finds himself confronted by a certain Saint Shield, will he change his opinion?


**Disclaimer**

The rights to Beyblade belong to Takao Aoki.

**Title**

Just a Fool

**Summary**

Johnny often scoffed at couples in love, but when he finds himself confronted by a certain Saint Shield, will he change his opinion?

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The Jurgen household was dead quiet. Robert was out on a date with Julia, while Enrique was busy dating as many girls as he possibly could handle in one day. As for Oliver, well he was down at the art museum checking out the paintings and gathering 'inspiration'. That left Johnny to spend Valentine's Day all alone. Not that it bothered him greatly – Valentine's Day was a complete waste of time and money anyway.

Couples in love sickened him. He couldn't recall how many times he had to barf when he spotted Robert and Julia cuddling on a park bench. He couldn't recall how many times he wanted to throw something at Enrique's face when he came home covered in lipstick. And he couldn't recall how many times he wanted to punch Oliver when he spoke about love as if it were the greatest thing ever.

Bunch of softies.

They weren't tough enough to be bladers.

Bladers had to be strong; there was no room for love on the battlefield.

He switched the television on, searching for a decent action flick to watch. But there was nothing good on – only shows about romantic couples making steamy hot love to each other on the screen and sucking each other's faces off. Johnny turned the television off in disgust and threw the remote away. He needed to get out.

He stood up from the couch and headed outside to get some fresh air. "Perhaps a practice session will clear my head," he said, heading towards the outside beyblade practice dish hidden in the surrounding forest. Beyblading was a good way to release tension. It didn't take him long to reach the dish.

Pulling out his ripcord, launcher and blade, he faced the dish and prepared to launch. "3... 2... 1... let it rip!" He jerked the cord back hard, releasing the blade forward. It landed directly in the centre of the dish. He smirked. Perfect. Salamulyon spun around in circles for awhile picking up speed when another blade, a blue one, entered the dish.

"You don't mind if I join in... right?"

Johnny glanced up. A tall slender female with long royal blue hair and emerald green eyes stood across from him, dressed in simple clothes. His eyes narrowed. Who was this intruder? "Who the hell are you and what are you doing on this property?"

"That's no way to treat a girl," she replied, walking forwards, hips swaying.

"I'm in the middle of practice. Go away."

She shook her head disdainfully. "So rude... I knew you guys were snobs, but I didn't realize you lacked respect as well." She glanced down at her blade. "Shark Rash! Teach him a lesson!" she ordered. Her blade responded, immediately charging towards Johnny's blade.

"I don't blade with girls," he replied snidely, hoping to intimidate the girl. "You should leave. I don't want to trash your blade and have you break down in tears."

Instead of reacting with anger, the girl simply smirked. "Are you scared of me, Johnny? Maybe _you _will be the one crying once I'm finished with you. ABYSS FIRE!" A burst of flame erupted from the bitchip. A giant shark emerged from the flames.

"Two can play with fire, Salamulyon! FIRE ROD!" A giant salamander appeared from his own bitchip. "I'm impressed... you have a bitbeast, but your puny blade will be crushed by the might of my Salamulyon!" Johnny sneered.

She placed her hands on her hips. "You talk big, Johnny."

"What's your name anyway? I want to know the name of the loser."

"Mariam from the Saint Shields."

"Must not be a good team, I've never heard of you guys before. Well Mariam, I'll show you the consequences of trespassing on private property! ATTACK, SALAMULYON!" With renewed strength Johnny's bitbeast charged towards the shark, clawing at the animal's head and pushing it back. The shark gnashed its jaws in an attempt to fight back against the bigger lizard.

Mariam laughed. "I can see why the Majestics failed to qualify."

Johnny's eyebrow twitched. "We were beaten by a cheating team. Besides... you can't talk, you weren't even in the third world tournament." He pointed a finger at her, a scowl on his face. "Quit talking and start blading."

His comments wiped the smirk off Mariam's face. "Fine. Destroy him, Shark Rash!" Shark Rash pulled back from the salamander, then charged forward, its head down low. Its bone crushing head knocked the salamander backwards, allowing the shark to gain full advantage.

"What the..." Johnny was left speechless. The girl was obviously a powerful blader, so why hadn't he heard of them before?

"You shouldn't underestimate the girls, Johnny. Beyblading might be a male dominated sport, but there are some girls who can spin with the best," Mariam called back, "As I am about to show you." The next attack caught Johnny completely off guard. Shark Rash's power seemed to increase a level which overpowered Salamulyon. To Johnny's horror, his bitbeast faded and returned to its bitchip as his blade came to an abrupt halt. The battle was over. "And the loser is... Johnny." She jumped down into the dish, and picked up her blade then put it away in a pocket.

Johnny wasn't sure what to make of the entire situation. How the hell could he lose to a girl?! It was unheard of! Females weren't fit to be bladers! They weren't strong enough. They were too sensitive, too emotional. But... she had won fair and square. Losing sucked. But this defeat was worse than any loss he had experienced. He walked down and picked up his blade, then glanced down at it. "How did we lose?"

"You shouldn't underestimate your opponent, Johnny. That always paves a path to a loss. Didn't you learn anything from your battle with Kai?"

He looked at her quickly at the mention of Kai. "How did you know about that?"

She shrugged, flipping her ponytail over her left shoulder. "Saw it on television, heard it on the news. It was big news at the time. Say... where are the rest of your teammates anyway?"

"It's Valentine's Day. They're out doing lovely-dovey crap."

"You're not a fan of the day?"

He glared. "Was it that obvious?"

"You're a bitter one, aren't you? You sure harbour a lot of ill feelings towards Valentine's Day." She placed one hand on her right hip and examined him. "You are still a virgin, right?"

He felt his face redden. "Wha- what has that got to do with anything?"

She smiled. "Aww, that's cute."

If there was one thing more he hated than losing, it was being called cute. "Cute?" Was this some sort of a cruel joke? Mariam didn't look like the type of girl that included cute in her vocabulary.

"Virgin guys are cute. Virgin guys with cute bitbeasts are even cuter," she said, smile widening even more.

"A cute bitbeast?"

Mariam rolled her eyes, and stood in front of him. "You should give love a chance, Johnny." She brought her mouth close to his ear, then whispered, "you don't know what you are missing out on." She pulled back, laughing softly to herself. Digging a hand into her pocket, she pulled out a small piece of crumpled paper and handed it to Johnny. "I'll give you a rematch – give me a call, alright?" She winked, then retreated back into the woods.

He watched her for a few short moments, then turned his attention on the paper in his hand. He had received his first phone number from a _girl. _Enrique was certainly going to be proud of him. He might even be jealous that Johnny scored a number without having to beg for it. He pocketed the paper then headed back to the castle, a satisfied smirk on his face.

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A totally underappreciated pairing, but here is my first attempt at writing a Johnny/Mariam. It's a pairing I started working on late 2006 with another author (currently known as MidnightStarr) and I hope this shipping gains followers. This pairing was inspired by Mariam's brief comment regarding the Majestics in an episode of V-Force – she knows about them – so it's just a matter of making them meet. This is a warm up practice fic for their role in 'A Hero's Last Cry', my season four Beyblade fic. Reviews are much appreciated : )


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